How do we know which texts are cannon?

[pablope]

I’d be curious as to who you are thinking is included in “we” since the orthodox churches have biblical canons that differ from the Latinate church. Just the West?

The bible canons between the Orthodox and the CC is not in dispute…and is not a source of dispute…as the Bible was never intended to replace the authority of the Bishops.

The extra books of some of the Orthodox stem from their tradition of what was read in their Divine Liturgy…which was one of the criteria for selecting the books anyway. So, I would say, it does not matter…it is never a source of dispute.

It is the protestants who made and continues to make it a source of dispute…dissonance in their thinking because it validates the work of the CC…

 

[patrick457]

And what evidence do you have of that? Perhaps they were edited–but is there evidence of a specific group that did the editing?

I’m not sure but I think he’s talking about the New World Translation.

 

[Mystophilus]

And what evidence do you have of that? Perhaps they were edited–but is there evidence of a specific group that did the editing?

In that sentence, as in the comment upon which it comments, “they” refers to the Watchtower Society, the Jehovah’s Witnesses who “translated” (and I use the word very loosely), the Bible into the New World Translation. As R_C pointed out recently, they were very enthusiastic in their desire to make the text say what they thought it meant, rather than to show what it says.

 

[Ignatius]

Why did the specific books in the Bible get in? Was there some sort of criteria used to decide which books where cannon and which were not? How do we know that other texts aren’t cannon and vice versa?

Holy Scripture was declared inerrant by and as a result of the Decree of Pope St. Damasus 1 at the Council of Rome in 382 A.D.

ST. DAMASUS 1, POPE, THE DECREE OF DAMASUS:

***It is likewise decreed: Now, indeed, we must treat of the divine Scriptures: what the universal Catholic Church accepts and what she must shun. ***
***Likewise, the list of the Scriptures of the New and Eternal Testament, which the holy and Catholic Church receives: of the Gospels, one book according to Matthew, one book according to Mark, one book according to Luke, one book according to John. The Epistles of the Apostle Paul, fourteen in number: one to the Romans, two to the Corinthians, one to the Ephesians, two to the Thessalonians, one to the Galatians, one to the Philippians, one to the Colossians, two to Timothy, one to Titus one to Philemon, one to the Hebrews. Likewise, one book of the Apocalypse of John. And the Acts of the Apostles, one book. Likewise, the canonical Epistles, seven in number: of the Apostle Peter, two Epistles; of the Apostle James, one Epistle; of the Apostle John, one Epistle; of the other John, a Presbyter, two Epistles; of the Apostle Jude the Zealot, one Epistle. Thus concludes the canon of the New Testament. ***
Likewise it is decreed: After the announcement of all of these prophetic and evangelic or as well as apostolic writings which we have listed above as Scriptures, on which, by the grace of God, the Catholic Church is founded, we have considered that it ought to be announced that although all the Catholic Churches spread abroad through the world comprise but one bridal chamber of Christ, nevertheless, the holy Roman Church has been placed at the forefront not by the conciliar decisions of other Churches, but has received the primacy by the evangelic voice of our Lord and Savior, who says: "You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it; and I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you shall have bound on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall have loosed on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

The Council of Hippo in 393 reaffirmed the canon put forth by Pope Damasus I in canon 36 of that Council.

The Third Council of Carthage reaffirmed anew, the Canon put forth by Pope Damasus I. (canon 47 A.D. 397).

Subsequently, several Councils reaffirmed the exact same Canon of Scripture, but the Authoritative declaration was by Pope Damasus I at the Council of Romr in A.D. 382***.***

---

This is the identical Canon of The New Testament used by every Christian group ever since and still used today.

 

[Dave_Noonan]

The bible canons between the Orthodox and the CC is not in dispute…and is not a source of dispute…as the Bible was never intended to replace the authority of the Bishops.

The extra books of some of the Orthodox stem from their tradition of what was read in their Divine Liturgy…which was one of the criteria for selecting the books anyway. So, I would say, it does not matter…it is never a source of dispute.

It is the protestants who made and continues to make it a source of dispute…dissonance in their thinking because it validates the work of the CC…

The assertion I was challenging was that all biblical canons (or the canons of “we”) would have been the same if it hadn’t been for Martin Luther. That’s not correct.